Reprinted from the June 2013 issue of Church Music Quarterly, the magazine of the Royal School of Church Music, by permission of the author and the editor. www.rscm.com Early one Sunday morning, two tunes, let’s call them ST FREDA and SUNSHINE SONG, were gossiping in the vestry. ST FREDA, being the senior of the two, initiated the conversation. ‘I wonder …
Short Guide No 15: How does the choice of tune affect a hymn?
It is a truism that words and music fit together like a horse and carriage and that each relies on the other for its effect. But in common English parlance hymns are known by their words (‘Onward, Christian Soldiers’) rather than by their tune names (SAINT GERTRUDE). However, it is usually the tune which remains in the memory and which …
Short Guide No 13: Using Hymns in All-Age Worship
Some services are designated as ‘all-age’. What does this imply? Ideally, all worship should be suitable for everyone in a worshipping community. ‘Our Father’ should mean what it says, without alienating people because of their age or cultural background. So, the term ‘all-age’ usually means a service for both adults and children, with a special emphasis on families. Content is …
Short Guide No 9: Our Musical Resources are Limited; What Can We Sing?
Successful congregational singing entails careful, imaginative organisation. We need not emulate the local choral society but our singing must be the best we can offer; nothing less will be good enough. We tend to rely on instrumental support for our singing, but let’s start with using the voice. Unaccompanied singing can be highly effective. Opinions expressed in this paper are …
Short Guide No 5: How Can We Encourage the Use of Hymns in Worship?
Have a suitable range of hymns available to illustrate the session. A group of well prepared musicians is a great asset! You must involve the audience throughout and be sensitive to people’s interests and concerns. Encourage participation and aim to stimulate discussion which leads to positive outcomes. These notes represent one way of designing a presentation. Other approaches could focus …
Treasure No 68: When Words Call the Tune
A version of a paper given at the Annual Conference at Leicester. 23 July 2002 There are age-old associations between what John Milton so aptly termed ‘voice and verse’. The hymn is just one of many genres that link words with music, and my specific brief is to consider the mutual impact of words on music in the context of …
Treasure No 60: Childhood and the Christian hymn
When children sing Christian hymns and songs they engage in an activity which is intended to be social and educational as well as religious. The experience is both communal and individual, for unless it means something to the child, the enterprise, however well-intentioned, ends in failure. The response of the child is crucial, and impressions, good or bad, are likely …